James D’Meo, formerly a registered representative with Kenneth Jerome & Co., agreed to accept a bar from the securities industry after refusing to appear for a follow-up on-the-record interview (“OTR”) with FINRA. On November 21, 2019, D’Meo signed a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (“AWC”) agreeing to a bar without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings.
Eugene Nathan Gordon, a former Morgan Stanley broker, agreed to a 90-day suspension by FINRA for allowing a wife to make withdrawals from her husband’s retirement account without written authorization from the husband.
On December 19th, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against investment adviser firm Springer Financial Advisors (“SFA”) and its owner Keith Springer (“Springer”) for allegedly defrauding hundreds of individual investors at or nearing retirement.
More and more individuals are falling victim to financial scams, and advisors should take steps to help clients avoid becoming a victim. This is especially true for elderly clients. The holiday season can make clients particularly vulnerable to certain schemes, such as those related to online shopping or charitable giving.
A recent report by the task force on the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards’ ("CFP Board") enforcement program recommends internal reforms that will address "systematic, longstanding, governance-level weaknesses."
Suneet Singal, owner and CEO of First Capital Real Estate Trust, Inc., has been charged with fraud by the SEC. According to the SEC Complaint, Singal purported to contribute a dozen hotels to the REIT and received a $15.2 million interest in the REIT’s operating partnership. However, the SEC alleged that Singal lied when he claimed beneficial ownership of the hotels. The Complaint stated that Singal’s misrepresentation caused the REIT’s net asset values to be overstated, which resulted in common shares being issued to investors at higher prices. The Complaint further alleged that Singal made material misrepresentations and omissions regarding these hotels in several SEC filings.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) ordered UBS Financial Services Inc. to pay more than $11 million to a former supervisor who claimed the firm defamed him in explaining his departure.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") has merged its examination operations and will review brokerages based on their business models next year.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) arbitration panel recently dismissed a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) against a former Edward Jones broker who initially agreed to the TRO prohibiting him from telling customers about his move to Ameriprise.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has barred former Securities America broker and certified public accountant for his role in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of about $1 billion.
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The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has initiated inquiries into several banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup, regarding potentially hindering whistleblowers from disclosing information, as reported by Bloomberg News.
The National Futures Association's (NFA) Business Conduct Committee (BCC) has taken action against 50.ai Investments LLC, a former NFA Member commodity pool operator and forex firm, for violating multiple NFA compliance rules.
In a recent decision, a panel of three Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitrators ruled against Edward D. Jones & Co., allowing one of its former advisors, Justin P. Mackay, to solicit his former clients to transfer their assets to Wells Fargo Advisors.
